O'er Nature's laws, God cast the veil of night

Joys, which we do not know, we do not wish.

You talk no more of that gay nation now, Where men adore their wives, and woman's power Draws reverence from a polished people's softness, Their husbands' equals, and their lovers' queens; Free without scandal; wise without restraint; …

Yours is the guilt of all, who, judging wrong, Mistake tuned nonsense for the poet's song! Provoking dulness!—what a soul has he Who fancies rhyme, and measure, poetry!— He thinks, profanely, that this generous art Stops at the ear—with …

Courage is poorly housed that dwells in numbers; the lion never counts the herd that are about him, nor weighs how many flocks he has to scatter.

Tender-handed stroke a nettle, And it stings you for your pains; Grasp it like a man of mettle, And it soft as silk remains.’Tis the same with common natures: Use ’em kindly, they rebel; But be rough as nutmeg-graters,

I see too plainly custom forms us all; Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief, Are consequences of our place of birth